Process of antisepticizing water.



G. ORNSTEIN.

PROCESS OF ANTISEPTICIZING WATER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 14, I913- Patented June 8, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

In ven tor:

G. ORNSTEIN.

PROCESS OF ANTISEPTICIZING WATER.

APPLICATION FILED 18.14, 1913.

Patented June 8, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

G. ORNSTEIN.

PROCESS OF ANTISEPTICIZING WATER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 1M 1913.

Patented June 8, 1915.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

In ven t r: 43/417" UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;

GEORG ORNSTEIN, OF NEW YORK, N Y., ASSiGNOR TO ELECTRO BLEACHING GAS COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

rnoonss or an'rrsnrrrcizmc WATER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented un'e 8, 1915.

Application filed February 14, 1913. Serial N 0. 748,284.

To all whom it may concern p 4 Be it known that I, Gnono ORNSTEIN, a

citizen of the German Empire, residing at New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes of AntisepticizingVVater, fully described and represented inthe following specification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

This invention'relates to processes of antisepticizing waters; and it comprises a method wherein chlorin in determined amounts is uniformly distributed through and absorbed by a minor body of water flowing as a continuous current and said minor body is then uniformly distributed through a major body of water also flowing as a continuous current, all saidoperations being conducted without pause suilicient to allow disappearance of any substantial amount of said chlorin as free chlorin prior to exercis ing its antiseptic action -all as more fully hereinafter set forth and as claimed.

. Chlorin is one of the best 'antiseptics and disinfectantsknown, as little as 0.1 to 0.4 parts per million of free chlorin being able to substantially sterilize 0r antisepticize most river or lake water, a proportionately greater amount being of course requiredfor more-contaminated water such as sewage.

Its use however suffers from the drawback that it "rapidly disappears, the free element going into combination and losing its'bactericidal power. Light facilitates this disamounts may imparta taste to the water.

But securing even and uniform distribution throughout. a body-of water of the infinitesimal amounts of chlorin needed for disinfection otters reat difiiculties, and particularly since this distribution must be very rapid;

.my purposes for the reason that they depend :is apt to come the hypo tastefl rapid enough to outstrip the chemical disappearance of the free chlorin.

The present invention has for its purpose the provision of-a rapid, efficient and economical distribution of small sterilizing quantities of chlorin throughout comparatively large bodies of water, as in sterilizing flowing currents of water in city water supplies. For this purpose I use free chlorin, preferably the compressed commercial gas, although a current of chlorin from other.

sources, as for instance an electrolytic cell,

may also be used. Bleaching powder and other hypochlorites are not applicable for in part for their antiseptic action on the development of hypochlorous acid by the carbonic acid naturally present in most Waters; and this is, comparativelyspeaking and for the present purposes, aslowaction; an action of the same order of velocity as the chemical reactions which tend to'cause' the disappearance of chlorin as free chlorin. With bleaching powder, therefore, ordinarily much more must .be used than is necessary to secure suflicient chlorin for steriliaw' tion alone; and with these'larg'e quantities Direct introduction of chlorin into a body of water to be treated thereby is hardly practicable for several reasons, one being that the amount of chlorin necessary is relatively so little that uniform distribution is difiicult and is apt to consume more time than canbe, for the present purposes," afforded. In anyway that it is added there will be, temporarily, spots-or zones. in the water containing more'chlorin than is necessary for sterilization and much of this local excess of chlorin is-aptto disappear chemi-- cal-ly before the water canfbe homogenized v and the chlorin evenly distributed. Another difliculty is that the absorption of gaseous I chlorin is rather slow and in introducing-it into a body of water, much is apt to pass upward as bubbles and escape and be wasted.

And with temporary fluctuations .in the height or pressure of a body of water, such as are inevitable in a flowing current, it is hard to adjust any gas supplying means so as-to secure a uniformsupply to the water r for absorption thereby. The rate of escape V of gas from anynozzle of course depends on the hydrostatic head of liquid above it. In the present invention, therefore, in lieu of admixture of a body of water of any size. with another body of water is of course a much simpler problem than attempting to uniformly distribute a part or so per million of a gas throughout a body of water.

As stated, the absorption of chlorin'is, relatively speaking, rather slow; but itis pr'oportionate to the area of contact between gas and liquid. Therefore in making my primary liquid, in lieu of bubbling gas through it, I cause the liquid to spread'out so as to present an extended surface and cause the gas to pass in contact with such extended surface of the liquid. In practice I find it usually best to film out the liquid and pass 'itagainst a stream of gas as a countercurrent. A bubble being spherical of course offers the minimum surface for the maximum volume. This filming in countercurrent gives me the additional advantage of being able to obtain an accurate proportioning between gas and liquid. In the sterilization of water by chlorin, .it is, for reasons stated ante, desirable to obtain the utmost accuracy as to the amounts added.

The filming and proportioning means used may be any of a large number of types.

In apractical embodiment'of the presentprocess, presuming a citywater supply flowing through a conduit to be the liquid to be treated, I establish a separate flow of liquid which in amount may be more or less than,

say, .1 to- .02 per cent of the amount of the current. This may be a small flow ofwater derived from the main current. -This separate flow'may be sent downward through a tower or the like, filled with coke, stone or any other material adapted to film out the water and enable it to present an extended area of surface. Upward through this tower v i so I pass acurrent of chlorin. This chlorin may conveniently be derived from one of the cylinders of liquefied gas sold inth'e trade. Suitable pressure regulating means should be used between cylinder and absorber in order to, give accurate control of the amount 'of gas supplied to the absorber and, thereby, of strength of the liquid solution or the amount of absorbed chlorin passing from the absorber to the body of water to be treated. Y

I find that by filming out the water and passing it against the gas as a countercurrent, .I can produce an efiicient absorption at such a rate of speed as to'give no-substantial chemical disappearance of free chlorin by the time the solution is rea y for'intros duction to the main body of water. Of

course in any event the smaller the body of water used for absorption the smaller is the absolute amount of chlorin which can so disappear, but there are certain practical reasons, such as the loss of the chlorin by escape through the vent of the absorption apparatus or from the chlorinated water before it reaches the larger body of water to be treated, which make it desirable to limit the degree of concentration in the minor flow rather than to attempt to, reach the maximum absorption.

The stream of liquid coming from the absorber is led into the body of liquid to be treated and admixed therewith as rapidly and uniformly as possible within reasonable limits.

In the accompanying illustrations I have shown, more or less diagrammatically, several apparatus susceptible of use in my process.

In this show1ng:-Figure 1 shows asimple but efiicient form of such apparatus more or less diagrammatically in side elevation with parts in 'section. Figs. 2, 3 and 4 are similar views illustrating modified .or alternative forms of apparatus.

Referring first to Fig. 1, the apparatus as shown comprises an absorption tower 10 through which the minor flow of water passes downward to absorb an upwardly moving current of chlorin gas. The chlorin in theap'paratus shown is supplied from a tank 11 of compressed and liquefied chlorin gas from which a pipe 12 leads into the lower part of the tower. The'tank is provided with a shut-off valve 13 and the supply pipe with a pressure reducing valve 14 and a regulating valve 15. Water issupplied to the tower from any suitable source, as from the tank 16 giving a constant or substantially constant head, through a pipe 17 which leads into the top of the tower and is provided with a shut-off valve,18 and a regulating valve 19. The water supply pipe 17 is also provided'with means for measurmg the Water flowing through. it to the tower. For this purpose a suitable meter for indicating the quantity of water which haspassed through the meter may be used, but I find it most advantageous to make" use of a speed meter to indicate the rate of flow and quantity of water passing at any given time. Such a meter is indicated at 20 and is conveniently located between the shut-off valve 18 and the regulating valve 19- as shown, although this particular location is The minor flow of 1e tebe r a ed; :Pt e me e formed of a -xerticallf' set shell of c earthenware. other suitable 7 materia es stent to chlorin Tfi11 d,, .OI'QSubstantiaIIy filled, with v broken stone coke, or. other suit" I able distributing: material adapted to film t the Water and, cause it to present an ex-. tended: areabf surface for contact with the ascendin, kcurrentotlgas, The tower should be pro'vi ed witha vent, asat. 22,; whereby the pressure within "the tower is maintained ter ,substan iallyiat, a m ph rie ressure eT a r mw as abQ ede a K m y e 15 diane rym Q li ess f0L1 Assunnng' that the regulatingvanes ;15 and 19' {havenot yet been set, ,then these valves being e tthe shu -Qfi v lve ma fir openedand the reducingvalve ll set to ive 20 about the'pressure at which it, desired t at h as Shell j 'l th gl l tipglvalve .15, and the regulating valves 1L5 amdl 19 'may en; b pen d a rel fi l?- Wa rding l t e reng h f; spiutione des and the quantityjot chlorin whichis tobe added; te the flowing water be, treate Sincethe as supplied by thetoweris wholly absorbed. ygt hedovvnflovying water and com ctinuouslycarried away through thepipefll to be suppliedto the wateritofbe treated, the chlorin s added to. thewater tobetreateda the r-ate at which thelchlorin as is suppliedv to h t w r, e e e nt o dd d. may; thereffiore becontrglledby means oft eregulating valvel 5, or for any given adjustm nt pf he valvelfif by adjilsting the pressure reducing valve 14. Andj v the quail-v tity, of ehlorin beingv supplied to the water tobetreatedatlany time or the rate of sup- 40 ply, nay zbe determined from knowing the strength; or concentration of the chlorinated np ssieg rom the tower and the rate of flow of ,.water through, the tower. The concentration or strength of the Solution may 1 be readily determined by testing samples of;

the same, and for the purpose of obtaining such samplesfor testing, a sampling valve 23 maybe provided and the rate of flow or quantity ofwater passin through the tower is indicated by thelspee gmeter 20, which as shown in this figure is arranged to measure eeeve r in th w Byt st e am leat the wh 'n t Wa er; Pa in rm ee at e sew r, th er nd by se ing 5s tees-ateefiflew v fwa er t t timerlhmo nt sf bh e n in ad t the W t r to be treated. n ay bereadily determined, and; by ad uStmg. the, rate at which the ,gas, is

;; suppliedto. the tower by means ofthevalve 15 orthe :valve 14 and testing a f teradjust ment, any, desired rateof supply vof; chlorin o, he ate to he treated, withinithe limits of :the; apparatus, v readily secured I with I a degree ,qfi accuracy, suflicient to meet 7 all practical requirements. Or; if desirecha a has over such mini num amol ga ,Or BXQm PlQJ chlprin to be me u e a ti ef s il ayjbe is; l pl d by adj s ing the valve 14 aihd 15 g give such measured flames iletermine'd bx h P s re vund r. whi hmh lq i fi lis s e- 3 plied to the orifice at. the'valve lathe size of, 5 which is fix d by the adj ust'rhent'fof said valve, the meterflandfsampling ineans then used for checking upsucl1 measuredrate of chlorin supply, v The amo'untof'water flowf A mg ehth app a s Shel-adept 1 be at least sufiicient to completely absofib, the Whole amount of chlorin gas entering t e tower, and in practical operation I finfd best to use a considerable excess of (water, such an amount of Water :islwill give a con centration in the Water leaving the absbrpr tion tower, of, say, aboutone. gram moreor less of chlorinperliterlofwater-,1v Afmrthe valves-14, 15 and 19 have once beensetto; 5 e u he addi i o chlo ate the w ter; to be treated at a desired rate, then, other conditions remaining the same, the sup chlorin to the Water to gbe treatedfwil '.con' f tinue at such rate,, and;if the apparatus be shut down at any time aslbyv clos ngfihe shutoff valves 13 and -18, ,th I}, -Yl 9 ,1 E3; apparatus is to be startegl up aga n t IS}? necessary to open the shut-ofi ,valvesfullv order to cause chlorin to besuppl ed'gag aln 5' to the waterzto betreated at tlie sarnerate,

Instead of measuring the mn or ilowmf v water before it is broughti'nto contact wnth the gas, I may measure vthe ehlennated, water after it leaves theabsorpt onto ver and before it isadded toithe, hfqtfifjtf treatedwln either case, I secure theaddi tion of the s r d amount f 9 .1m chlorin at the desiredlra'tefio the water be treated by adding t uch flFiQ T-QP a P determined rate the chlorinated Water, the minor flow of anknownor, predetermmed. strength. When the water is,;measured before enterin the tower or other absorpt on apparatus, t en in order to secure the un form addition of the chlorin to the water tobe treated the chlorinated Water must be allowed to flow as a continuous stream div; rectly intothe water to bettreated, Such continuous flow of theminorbodygf water 5 to Whichthe chloringasis sup lied, gives the best results in practice, and in operating in this \vay it is usually most advaptageous t measure the waten before it V bronght info contact with the;gas.,.W'l1en measurement is made, of the ,chlorinated avater, the flow y o be e t mw a f r the ster t the water to be treate -or iit may he int l c d And the chlorunatecl yy t 'b w supplied to the ivatcr to be treated at a rate; 5 hith X diflerent from the rate j flea through V the absorption apparatus. meth of pe l ll isl 0 ,ms qf'ladt; esa a in wmna r t i ely suallaplaxita; s eve; it permits the chlorination of th clminordai as shown in Fig. 1, but where the flow to be efiected intermittently at a higher rate of flow of the water than the rate at which the chlorinated water is added to the water to be a In Fig. 2 I have shown an apparatus which ma be used in this way and which is especial adapted for treating comparatively smal bodies of flowing water. he apparatus shown in this fi re comprises an absorption tower 10 similar to that of Fig. 1, to the bottom of which the chlorin gas is supplied through pipe 12 from a tank 11 the tank bein provided with a shut-o valve 13 and t e pipe 12 with a regulating valve 15. A reducm valve may e provided between the tan and regulatin valve ow" of chlorin is comparatively small or not long continued the reducing valve is not necessary for the securing of results sufliciently accurate for all practical purposes.- Water may be supplied to the tower as before from a tank 16 or other suitable source through a pipe 17 which leads into the top of the tower constant head past a measuring and is provided with a shut-ofl valve 18 and a regulatinlg valve 19; and the tower should be provi ed with the vent 22. Chlorinated water from the tower is discharged through a pipe 21 as before, but instead of leadfi directly to theflowing water to be trea this pipe in the apparatus of Fig. 2 dischar into a measuring tank 30, which to avoid loss of chlorin from the water should be closed but vented and which may be provided with a suitable age 31 for showing the height of water in the tank. The discharge p pe 21 should best be ex tended down to near the bottom of the tank as indicated by dotted lines to avoid lashmg of the liquid as it enters the tank. mm the measuring tank, the chlorinated water flows into a smaller tank 32 through. an outlet controlled by a float controlled valve 33 whereby the water is maintained at a constant level in this smaller tank. From this smaller tank the water flows under a orifice to the main or comparativel large body of flowing water wh1ch is to treated. The measuring orifice may be rovided b any suitable means which may ad'ustab e for vary ng the rate of outflow of t e water by varying the efi'ective size of the outlet pas sage or orifice.

n the apparatus shown in Fig. 2 an adjustable measuring valve 34 in an outlet pipe 35 leading from the tank 32 serves this purpose. The chlorin water from the pipe 35 may be united with the body of flowing water to be treated by any suitable means. In Fig. 1 I have shown a discharge pipe 36 which receives the chlorin water from the pipe 35 as extendingl down into a flow ualizing well 37 whic may be consld as part of the conduit through which the water izing well. In or or to avoid variations in the rate of flow of the water from the tank 32 due to variations in the back ressure on the discharge pi e 36, which might result from rise and of the water level in the well 37, the pipe 36 should be open to atmosphere, as by means of a stand pipe 39; and I find it desirable to provide an additional flow of water to oin the chlorin waterwhere it enters the disc arge pipe 36 or stand-pipe For this purpose, in the apparatus shown in Fig. 2, a water supply pi 4 0 enters the stand pipe 39 at a point Steve the junction therewith of the pipe 35. This added flow of water serves to take up any the volume of the chlorinated water entering the main body of water to be treated, thus insuring a better distribution of the chlorin in the main body of water. This apparatus of Fig. 2 may be used as follows: Assuming that the regulating valves 15 and 19' have not yet been set, then, these valves being closed, the shut-oi! valves 13 and 18 may first be opened and then the regulating valves 15 and 19 may be opened and rela tively adjusted to adjust the proportionate amounts of chlorin gas and water entering the absorption tower until the water leaving the absorption tower is of,-or about of, the concentration desired, as for example, one gram per liter of water. Liquid for test may be taken from the discharge pipe 21 through the sampling valve 23, or liquid for testing maybe taken from the measuring tank 30. After the desired concentration has been obtained the regulating valves may if desired be sealed or otherwise set or protected in such a way as to prevent accidental or other unauthor zed change in their setting. If the tank 30 becomes filled with the chlorinated water, the shut-oif valvesj13 and 18 are closed, the regulating valves then remain adjusted for the desired proportions 0 gas and water so that when it is again desired to supply the chlorinated water to the tank 30 it is only necessary to .0 en the shut-ofl valves fully in order to o tain a further supply of the chlorinated the valve 34 to the bempsentw iwe rmi htbe, suppl tdt h fi nk m from the ovverfjat' i i-ate fa setti g (i p'pr ee i tha of k h ope ith i iel discharge pipe 36, or a ed through" the when lished to' rciifi thetaiiE atin tervals asnlay 7 Q9 ec esfsary ace'ordi'ngjto therate'at "ivhich 'ch1brinated ';vvater "is discharged Ham either nianner of operating, lorinatedfjwater iirofnthe' ah s ;o1be1f is the body of liquid to be t'll-Gated 4, 3" ong confined, l y M 1 g pass ge frdin the" 'ahsorber to the bqdj' (if vateif to treated the chlorinated 'gas'jjy being protected against access of cire et n ar di nfii t In comparatively "in 1 inst lfa'tie'n's th offfree chlorin a 1 s a I I I II I efilled onlyat interivali ;efs veeih m r "the" chlorinated g b ithl sch i p g c. e ree M m y e deter i i ied .bvm urin' i fh 1 un W dra nif' en fitfhe ti ki "d r such t m them 1 v ng em i a e h d n lvefinthe, wink ji dthesca of the gag uei flilflihdicating'lthe "volumeor the distance fiithefl oi i "wh the volume y b al ulatedflhe ize i t e' e k being k q n- 'isw ly l e U of outflow for a g ven II 34; nayfbe determined. tead of "depndingi uponfl'such actual measureinenit, ,t he ;Ivalve, and: head of liquid in the, c i s en evelg n 32. may dardiz ed so that by simply setting the valve dQ a teI f flow ma be ined arid, he i desired quantity of ch orin thgusj dded toithdbbdy of flowing water to treated) 1Qbvi'ous ly, it is not necessary that the, chlorinatedjvvater supplied to the tankBOf sh'ould heexactly ofany particular p concentration, ,it being sufficient that it beef approximately {a I'des red concentration and concentration be kn'ownfso that'the l rate of flqvv accordiiigtothe Strength of the stlptibnj to am ne desired amount of these 45 1 )1 ed of aknovvii or;

1 Referring tofiia i x may' hh be set for the necessary the condition when that theternperature changes are not large.

a reduein regulating valveas in 1 between t 'e-re uiapieg valve' 15"and the 1 Instead 6f de endih upzm the addition to thewateifftfdb" treate' fof'chlorinated Water I I I predetermined strength and at a predeterrninediiatelfor securing the addition of; chlorin to thewvater to be trehtedi'n desired quantityfb fi at a desired rate; my,

asibefore pointed opt; secure tlie" desired rea quanti'tv 'of cltloi -in n solutioninjmtater o the "wat nabe treated by measuring the fchl'orin gasf befor'e flow I of water T directly into the "main body of water mite i raea- "n o 'eiemrghi this anner, I "new were; need not b su edz ow am unter any articulafi roportionit'd thejfimv bf chlorln' supp ed to be such minor flew ivvateflit being necessary only thatth'e inin'oi fiowf 'of 'y'vaterhe i'nsuflicient volumej to alosorb all the chlorin asbi'ou'ght into; I contact "therewith; begore 1 stated, the gpparatij 'of Fig'l '1 be usfed'in this way, and .in Fig s I havshown a form of apparatus especially adapted for carrying out the )Iiro'riessi'nth'is"Wag?, f I I 3 t ea perms here shown comprises an absorption tower 'lO which maybe similar to the mer e-awn in Figs. 1 and 2andsilnilarly filled"or substantially filled with broken eer e, coke, or atheisuitable: distributing material fog; filming the downfioviing Water, Which enters "the tower through asupply'pip'e- ITleading from a suitable "source of supply and" provided with a shut-off valve 18, and which may also be provided for convenience with a regulating valve 19. The tower should also he vented as before/as by a vent pipe '22 leading from the top of fthe tower-i The chlorin gasis s'ilpplied atfapo'int near the bottom of the'tovver through 1 ipe 12 leading from' a cylinder 11 of'compress'ed and liquefied chlorin as or from other suitable source of supp y. The tank is supplied with the usual shut-ofvalve' 13'. i'1l1e pipe 12 is provided with pressure reduei n'g'aud adjusting means wvhich as shown is formed by two adjustable pressurefreducin'gvahes 50 and 51 which lserve to maintain in the pipe 12 beyond thevalv'e the des'ired pressure for vvhich they mayhe setpractically constant evenimder Wide variations in the pressure under vvhieh thegiis" comes tothe valve50 The ipe 1 2 alsoha s inserted in it at a point between the "sec'ondreducing valve and the tovvera fitting 52 formed to provide afixedorifice of known size which serves as a measuring orifice. Between the reducing valve 51 an the measuring orifice 52, I connect with the ipe 12 a pressure gage 53 for indicating e pressure under WhlOh the reaches the measuring orifice. Any suitab e form of ressure fige may, of course, be employed, ut a big accuracy in indicating the pressure is necessary and I find a two-column ge similar to the usual water ga well suited for the urpose, the liquid in e tube 54 of the gage bein sulfuric acid or other suitable 1i u1d whiai does not react with chlorin gas. he discharge pipe 21 leading from the bottom of the tower mav be connected directly into the conduit throu which the main body of water to be sterihzed flows, or other means may be provided to cause the chlorinated water to pass directly and continuously from the tower into the water to be sterilized. As shown in this figure, the chlorinated water is discharged into a conduit 55, the pipe 21 being arranged to dischar at a point within the conduit suitable or securing the desired intermingling of the liquids.

It is desirable that the moisture from the absorbing a paratus be revented from traveling ba ard, throng the pipe 12 to the measuring and flow adjusting apparatus. I find that an upwardly extending pipe of suflicient length between the measuring apparatus and the tower is sufiicient for this purpose. Such an u wardly extending pipe is shown at 56 in ig. 3 formed for convenience as a coil of large diameter. So long as the ipe has a substantial upward slant in the tion from the tower to the measuring apparatus, it is the length of the upwardly extending pipe rather than the degree of its upward inclination which is of importance, althoughthe length should be somewhat greater as the inc inatidn is less. Such upwardly extending pipe prevents the moisture from the tower reaching the measuring apparatus for the reason that the vapor cannot difi'use backward through such an u wardly extendin path for any considerab e distance. Or arily I find that a coil of small pipe such as shown having a length of about six feet afi'ords full protection. Such protecting means is alwa ready to serve its purpose when needed an never interferes with the operation of the ap aratus. In using the apparatus shown IP11 this figure, the reducing valve 50 having been set to supply the gas at a pressure more or less above that under which it is desired that the gas shall reach the measuring orifice 52, and the shut-ofi valve 18 being opened, the second reducin valve 51 will then be adjusted to cause e gas to reach the measuring orifice 52 under the desired pressure according to the quantity of chlorm which it is desired shall pass the degree of measuringorifice and be supplied to the absqrption tower. The pressure at the measuring orifice will be accurately shown by the gage 53. Since the orifice 52 is of known size, the rate of flow of gas through the same will depend upon the pressure under which the gas reaches the orifice, so that it is only necessary to supply the gas to the orifice under the proper pressure in order to suppl the gas to the tower in a predetermine quantity or at a predetermined rate of flow; and this proper or desired pressure at the measuring orifice is readily secured by adjusting t c valve 51 according to the indications of the gage 53. A sin 10 reducing valve, preferably an plemented or closer adjustment by a regu t" valve as in Fig. 1, may be used instead of t e two reducing valves shown in this figure for regulating and maintaining constant when set the pressure at the measurin orifice and will give 0d results when t e conditions are such t at there are no wide variations in the pressure of the gas supply. In order, however, to secure practical constancy in the iressure at' the measurm' g orifice under wide y varying supply pressures, as for example when the gas 18 drawn in considerable quantity from a tank of compressed and liquefied chlorin continuously for a comparatively long time, I find it of advantage to make use of two adjustable reducing valves as shown and with such an arrangement i am enabled tosecure the desired adjustment readily and accurately and to maintain a high de ee of constanc in the pressure at and ow through t e measuring orifice. The supply of water to the tower through the pi 17 should be adjusted so that there wi be enough water flowin through the tower to completely. absorb a l the entering chlorin gas, and may be in such quantity asto result m a solution of eater or less strength as desired. obvioufiy, the exact amount of water flowing through the tower, so long as there is enough, is material, since, whatever the strength of the solution produced, chlorin will be supplied to the main body of water to be treated at the rate at which'it enters the tower rovided the chlorinated water is allow to flow freely from the tower the water to be treate The rate of supp of the chlorin to the water to be treated epends in this case upon the rate of pply of the chlorin gas to the absorption wer.

In F 4, I have shown a modified form of absor ing apparatus in which instead of filming out the water of the minor flow and bringing the filmed out water and the gas together in countercurrent, I discharge both water and gas into the lower part of a'tower or chamber having a filli of broken stone or other suitabledistributing material and overflow outlee r e amassi g sldyvlyj I through thchambeiipast theflllin'g of ldistributing inaterialtpresentsan extended sur allow the waterto fill the chamberup to an 'f ace for coritactf with'ithe chlor iri that an efficient 'absorptibnof gas byf the wateris'securdu" thelvwater to be sterilizedflows.-i The water a iszsuppliedtlrrough pipe 62" and the chlorin -';;gas1.throu'gh pipe titg-Hbtii pipes leading down to discharge near the bott ombfthe ward i-Zromapointnearthe'top ofthe chamher and above the level of the water in 'the v g V the process which comprisesestablishing a 'sepaa'ate i'n'inorxflow of waterfcausingsuch v wminer flow to spread out onefportiori of well 61,; and through this pipe the chlorinated water overflowing from thechamber 60 is discharged into themain body of flowing water to lie treated The-supply of" water and chlorin gas to the absorption chamber may be controlled by means such as shown in the other figures so as to secure the'desired addition of chlorin to the water to be treated, but where the absorbing chamber is in an inaccessible position such that sampling for test would be diflicult, it is desirable to supply the gas in measured flow as with the apparatus of Fig. 3.

My process is useful for treating all sorts of Waters which are benefited by treatment with chlorin, and the term water in the claims is to be understood as including all kinds of waters and watery liquids, such as water of city and town supplies, sewage, etc. The proportionate amount of chlorin to be added to the water to be treated will, of course, be determined according to the character of thewater.

What is claimed is:

1. In the sterilization of flowing water, the process which comprises establishing a separate minor flow of water, such flow being filniwise in one portion of its path, contacting chlorin gas with such flow in such portion of its path, and thereafter uniting such minor flow of water with the main body of flowing water to be sterilized.

2. In the sterilization of flowing water, the process which comprises establishin a separate minor flow of water, such ow being filmwise in one portion of its path, contacting a predetermined amount of chlorin gas with such flow in,such portion of its path, and thereafter uniting such minor flow of water with the main body of flowing Water to be sterilized.

3. In the sterilization of flowing water, the process which comprises establishing a separate minor flow of water, causing such minor flow to spread out in one portion of its path to present an extended surface, conthe proc wti aehhri a it :s hi ewi i s port of 1' t iP thi e d th rea t un sucli minor flow; ofwater with the main body {4.1 fe sterilization i fiqw" water,

separate nnnorflow ,of w ,ca usmg such ininorflow to spreadgoutffinfone portion pf a ip e t e a r f naesur c tacting chlorin gas with such flow in such portion ofits path, and' thereafter suchminer flow "of warerfwiiith the ,main

body of flowing w' 'atef mb e sterilized, and

" efYntrolli'ng'the q aii'tity. 9f chlorin supplied to the mam body erfie in" waterby wrestling trim-ate f supply the minor" flow of water. c

5. In the sterilization of easing wa er,

*itspaeh to present an extended surface, eontacting a measured flow of chlorin gas with such flow of water in such portion of its path, and thereafter uniting such minor flow of water with the main body of flowing ss which co pri es est l sh a flow to spread out in one portion of its path to present an extended surface, contacting chlorin gas in amount proportionate to the amount of water flowing in the minor flow with such flow in such portion of its path,

and thereafter supplying the water so treated at a predetermined rate to the main body of flowing water to be sterilized.

8. In the sterilization of flowing water, the process which comprises establishing a minor flow of water, causin such minor flow to spread out in one portion of its path to present an extended surface, expanding liquefied chlorin to the gaseous state, contacting such chlorin gas with such minor flow in said portion of its path, and thereafter uniting such minor flow of water with the main body of flowing water to be sterilized.

9. In the sterilization of flowing water, the process which comprises establishing a separate minor flow of water, contacting a predetermined amount of chlorin gas with such flow, and thereafter uniting such minor flow of water with the main body of flowing water to be sterilized, whereby chlorin is added .to such main .body of flowing water at a predeterminedrate.

10. In the sterilization of flowing water', the process which comprises establishing a separate minor flow of water, introducing a controlled amount of chlorin gas into such minor flow of water to produce a relatively strong solution of chlorin, and thereafter uniting and mixing such minor flow of water with the main body of flowing water to be sterilized, the rapidity of admixture being such as to insure dissolved chlorin reaching all portions of the main body of flowing water prior to substantial com letion of the chemical'changes in such issolved chlorin incident to the dilution by such flowing water.

11. The process of sterilizing large volumes of flowing water which comprises rap idly admixing with such water a relatively strong solution of chlorin, the rapidity of admixture beingsuch as to insure dissolved chlorin reaching all portions of such flowing water prior to substantial completion of g the chemical changes in such dissolved chlorin incident to the dilution by such flowing water.-

12. In the sterilization of flowing water, the process which comprises establishing a separate minor flow of water, contacting chlorin gas with such flow to produce a solution and thereafter suppl ing the water so treated to the main body oi flowing water to be sterilized.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORG ORNSIEIN. Witnesses:

A. L. Kim'r,

PAUL H. FRANKE. 

